roleplay

See also: rôleplay and role-play

English

Alternative forms

• rôleplay
• role-play

Etymology

From role (“expected behavior”) + play (“perform, act”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈrəʊl.pleɪ/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈrol.pleɪ/

Verb

roleplay (third-person singular simple present roleplays, present participle roleplaying, simple past and past participle roleplayed)

1. (intransitive) To act out a scenario or fantasy with another person or other people.

   To spice up their sex life, they like to roleplay.

2. (transitive) To act as a character as part of a fantasy, especially with a group.

   He likes to roleplay a vampire.

   • 2018 October 17, Drachinifel, 30:18 from the start, in Last Ride of the High Seas Fleet - Battle of Texel 1918‎^[1], archived from the original on 4 August 2022:

     The particular person roleplaying Beatty in that battle suggested summarily executing Seymour and dumping him overboard.

3. (transitive, intransitive, by extension) To act out a social role that one does not truly belong to.
   • 1982 December 11, Catherine Joseph, “Breaking Barriers”, in Gay Community News, volume 10, number 21, page 10:

     Realizing that she was an 'other' not only as a black woman but also as a black lesbian, she struggles to fiind someplace where she and other black lesbians like herself could live out their existence without role-playing or conforming to the ideals that were prevalent in the bars at that time.

   He talks like he's some scrappy bootstrap entrepreneur but he's just some old money rich kid roleplaying.

Translations

To act as a character as part of a fantasy, especially with a group.

• French: rôler (fr)
• Spanish: rolear

Noun

roleplay (countable and uncountable, plural roleplays)

1. The act or practice of roleplaying; an instance of roleplaying.
   • 1985 August 17, “Personal advertisement”, in Gay Community News, volume 13, number 6, page 13:

     Lesbian, 34, seeks lesbians who enjoy occasional anal sex and role plays. Light s/m ok too.

   • 2008 November 21, Graham Linehan, The IT Crowd, Season 3, Episode 1:

     Roy: Let's do some roleplay, OK? Do you think that would be a good idea?
     Moss: It helped me learn how to buy sandwiches.

2. The practice of roleplaying.

Synonyms

• RP

Translations

roleplaying game — see roleplaying game

See also

• RPG
• LARP
• roleplayer

Anagrams

• e-payroll, playlore